In this episode, Reese Tisdale sits down with Bluefield Vice President Keith Hays to talk about what we call “Big Water.” Veolia and Suez, two of the largest water solutions providers in the world are in merger negotiations again, and Reese and Keith discuss their perspectives on the proposed deal and companies themselves. They also get into whether a marriage between the two water behemoths is a good, or bad, thing for the water industry.
In late August, Veolia made an unsolicited offer to purchase French rival Suez. Veolia offered to buy a 29.9% stake in Suez from Engie SA, the first step toward a full takeover to create a water and wastewater treatment company with more than 40 billion euros in revenue. And it’s not the first time, Suez tried acquiring Veolia back in 2012.
In this podcast:
- What would a potential Suez/Veolia deal mean for innovation?
- How is Veolia getting ahead of any government pushback?
- Are there other suitors or stalking horses?
- How might this impact the startup-community?